Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are and Who This Covers

Snag Link ("we", "our", or "us") is run by W. Pearce, a sole trader trading as Snag Link, of Lochburn Gate, Glasgow, G20 0SN. We provide an Android app for recording construction defects ("snags") and sending them to the subcontractors who need to fix them, and the website at snaglink.app where those subcontractors respond. We are responsible, as data controller, for the personal data described in this policy. You can contact us about anything in it at privacy@snaglink.app, or by post at the address above.

This policy covers three groups of people:

• Account holders: site managers and others who sign in to the Snag Link app.
• Trades: subcontractors who are sent a Snag Link by an account holder. Trades do not create an account or sign in.
• People who sign up on our website for early access, iPhone news or to talk about a team (see section 12).

2. Information We Collect About Account Holders

3. Information About Trades

When an account holder sends a trade a Snag Link, we process:

• the trade's name, mobile number and/or email address and trade, as entered by the account holder;
• the snags assigned to them, and their replies: whether the snag is fixed or can't be fixed, any note (up to 2,000 characters), the reason given and one photo per reply;
• earlier versions of a reply that the trade later changed. These are kept in the snag's history so the account holder can see what changed, with notes shortened to 200 characters.

Trades do not sign in. The Snag Link page does not use analytics, and our code does not record a trade's IP address, device or location. To check that the page is being used in a real browser rather than by an automated script, it uses Google reCAPTCHA (through Firebase App Check), which runs invisibly, collects information about the browser and device, and may set a cookie for that purpose. Google processes that information under its own Privacy Policy. To keep working with a poor signal, the page stores a copy of the snags it shows in the browser's own storage on the trade's device. Photos a trade uploads are compressed first, which removes GPS and other metadata.

The account holder decides which trades to send snags to and what to include, and is responsible for having the right to share a trade's details with us. If you are a trade and want your details removed, you can ask the person who sent you the link or contact us directly.

4. How We Use Information

• To provide the app: storing and syncing your projects, snags and photos across your devices, including while you are offline.
• To create Snag Links for trades: each link opens a page showing the trade the snags assigned to them, with your name, company and logo so they know who sent it.
• To notify you when a trade replies: the notification shows the trade's first name, the snag title and the project name. It never includes what the trade wrote.
• To turn your voice into snags: see section 5.
• To create PDF reports: reports are generated on your phone and include snag details, photos, and trades' names and phone numbers. You decide who to share them with.
• To manage your plan: confirming your subscription with Google Play, stopping one subscription being used on several accounts, giving each new account its free trial and reminding you before it ends, and making your projects view-only when a trial or subscription ends.
• To prevent repeat free trials: checking the keyed hashes of your email address and phone against those of earlier trials.
• To keep the service secure: preventing misuse and fraud, and complying with the law and Google Play's policies.

Our legal bases (UK GDPR): we process account holders' data to perform our contract with you. We process trades' data, and use data for security and fraud prevention (including preventing repeat free trials), because it is in our and our account holders' legitimate interests to manage snagging work, and we limit this to what the service needs. Push notifications and microphone access depend on permissions you can withdraw at any time in your phone's settings. We keep some information where the law requires it.

5. Voice Capture

When you hold the microphone button, the app records audio on your phone. When you let go, the recording is sent through our server to Google's Gemini AI service, which transcribes it and fills in the snag details. So that it can match the trade and location you mention, the request also includes the names and trades of the trades saved on the project, and the project's saved location names. The recording is deleted from your phone once it has been processed. If processing fails (for example, no signal), it is kept on your phone only so you can try again, and is deleted when you retry, record again or leave the capture screen. We do not store the recording or the transcript on our servers. Only the snag details you choose to save are kept.

Voice capture needs an internet connection; recordings are not saved for later. If the app cannot use the microphone directly, it may use your phone's own speech-recognition service instead, under that service's privacy terms. The resulting text is then sent to Gemini in the same way.

6. Who We Share Information With

We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it for advertising. We share it only as follows:

• Trades you send links to: they see the snags assigned to them, their photos and descriptions, the project and walk names, and your name, company and logo. They cannot see other trades' snags.
• Link previews: when a Snag Link is shared in WhatsApp or similar apps, the preview shows the trade's name and the walk name.
• Messaging apps you choose: links are sent from your own WhatsApp, text messaging or email app, not by us. Those messages are handled under the terms of the app you use.
• Google, as our service provider: our data is processed and stored on Google Cloud (see section 7). Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Firebase App Check (with Google reCAPTCHA on the website), Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Hosting run the app and website. The Gemini API provides voice capture, and Google Play handles subscriptions and payments.
• Plausible Analytics: counts visits to our public web pages (the home, support and legal pages) so we can see what is working. It uses no cookies, does not store IP addresses and does not identify you; it records things like the page, the referring site, the country and the type of device, and which buttons were used. It is never used on Snag Links sent to trades.
• Web3Forms: sign-ups from our website's form are sent to our email inbox through Web3Forms, which processes them only to deliver them to us.
• Google Play testing: if you sign up to test the Android app, we add your email address to the test's list of testers in Google Play so you can install it.
• Legal requirements: where we are required to by law, regulation or legal process, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

7. Where Data Is Stored and Processed

Snag Link is built on Google Firebase, part of Google Cloud. All the data described in this policy is processed and stored on Google Cloud, in these locations:

• Database (Cloud Firestore): London, United Kingdom (europe-west2). This holds account details, projects, walks, snags, trades' contact details, trades' replies, Snag Links and subscription records.
• Photos and logos (Cloud Storage): London, United Kingdom (europe-west2). This holds the photos and markups you add to snags, photos trades send with their replies, and company logos.
• Server functions (Cloud Functions): Belgium (europe-west1).
• AI services: we use Google's Gemini AI for voice capture (see section 5). Gemini requests are processed on Google's global infrastructure, which may be in the United States or other countries.
• Sign-in, notifications, crash reports, app-integrity checks and website hosting: these Google services run globally and may process data in the United States or other countries.

Where personal data leaves the UK or European Economic Area, we rely on Google's data processing terms, which include the contractual safeguards UK and EU data protection law require.

8. How Long We Keep Information

• Your account and site content: for as long as your account exists. You can delete projects, walks, snags and individual photos in the app at any time, and you can ask us to delete your whole account. When you delete a project, walk or snag, its records and its photos are removed straight away.
• After a trial or subscription ends: your projects, snags and photos are kept for as long as your account exists, whether or not you subscribe. Projects made view-only when a trial or subscription ends are kept, not deleted.
• Snag Links: a link stops working 30 days after it was last sent or replied to, or straight away if you withdraw it. A trade's replies stay with the snag for as long as the snag exists. Records of withdrawn links are kept so that old links can never work again.
• Voice recordings: deleted from your phone as soon as they have been processed. They are never stored on our servers.
• Subscription and trial records: for as long as your account exists. Google Play keeps its own purchase records under Google's privacy policy.
• Free trial checks: the keyed hashes of your email address and phone are kept after you delete your account, so that deleting and signing up again does not give a new trial. They contain no account ID, and cannot be turned back into your email address or phone identifier.
• Server logs: our servers record account identifiers and error details (not snag content) to keep the service running. These logs are kept for up to 30 days.
• On your phone: unsaved drafts, photos waiting to upload, cached images and PDF reports stay in the app's private storage on your device. They are removed when you clear the app's data or uninstall it. The app is excluded from Android backups.

9. Deleting Your Account

You can delete your account and all of its data from inside the app (tap your photo on the home screen, then Help & legal → Delete account), or ask us to through our Data Deletion Request page. Deleting your account does not cancel a Google Play subscription, so please cancel it in Google Play first.

10. Security

Data is encrypted in transit and stored with Google Cloud, which encrypts it at rest. Access to your account data is controlled by sign-in and security rules. Snag Links use long, randomly generated identifiers that cannot practically be guessed. Anyone who has a link can see what it shows, so it should only be shared with the trade it was meant for. Our Cloud Functions are the only part of the system that can change subscription status.

11. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law (and the EU GDPR where it applies), you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• have it corrected;
• have it deleted;
• restrict how it is processed or object to processing;
• receive it in a portable format.

Where we rely on your permission, you can withdraw it at any time. To use any of these rights, email us. We will respond within one month. Trades can contact us directly, as well as or instead of the account holder who sent their link.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.

Children

Snag Link is a business tool and is not intended for anyone under 16.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this page and tell account holders in the app.

12. Website Sign-ups

Our website has a sign-up form where you can tick any of: joining the Android test, being told when the iPhone app is ready, or talking to us about a team. We collect what you ticked, your email address and, depending on what you ticked, your name, company, team size and message. We use them only for what you asked: adding you to the test (see section 6), one email when the iPhone app is ready, or replying about your team. Our legal basis is that you asked us to, and our legitimate interest in answering. Separately, you can choose to get occasional news and tips about Snag Link by ticking a box that is never ticked for you, or by asking for them after you sign up. We only send those emails if you did, our legal basis is your consent, and every one has a link to unsubscribe; you can also withdraw consent at any time by emailing us. The form is delivered to our email inbox by Web3Forms, a form-sending service, which passes your details on to us by email (see section 6). We keep sign-ups in our inbox until we have done what you asked, and no longer than 12 months after Snag Link launches publicly; if you asked for news and tips, we keep your email address and a record of your consent until you unsubscribe. You can ask us to delete them at any time.

14. Contact Us